What If?
by Rashomon Aetelier
Summary: A small recount of the transformation of dark blue to gold, acid to temptation, hatred to passion.  /ClaudexSeb, warning for reasons/
1. I: The Spider's Conundrum

**Disclaimer:** Yana Toboso owns Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler. I own nothing but the situation. Did I have a hand in the canon, these two would have had more subtext. Yes, I needed more subtext.  
><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> So this was one of those 2am self indulgent I feel like writing shippy fic no one will ever read. Warnings for heavily implied buttseks and a broken plate. It's about time I wrote for this pairing since I've been shipping it like FedEx. Still debating if this is a oneshot or a multichapter. Stay tuned.

What If

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><p>He tasted like fire and smoke and sulfur and sweat. He tasted at times like stolen evenings and mornings greeted with a single tempestuous kiss before parting punctuated with the promise of more. But mostly, he tasted of sin. Then again, what did one expect a demon to taste of but sin?<p>

Were one to dare ask Claude Faustus when it all changed, even he couldn't find an answer. It happened so quickly, suffice to say. One minute, the blades were flying in a furious twister of gold and silver, the next he found himself trapped within a raven's kiss. What followed after was a blur. But it was everything and nothing, ice and fire, rage and passion. And so it had been ever since that day. Somehow, they would find an excuse to escape the lords they served and steal a few moments. The place and time didn't matter. It was pure, simple, electrifying need that fueled them. But it was always that final kiss that brought him back from his high.

There was no denying it weighed heavily on his mind, peeping in from time to time like a child unbidden.

"What if." he used to ask himself, like that night where he'd first grasped the raven in his arms.

"What if." he once murmured as he stood by his bedroom window and watched that figure steal into the night he seemed to disappear into at will.

"What if." He'd whispered once against his lover's chest as it rose and fell with each heaving breath, the taint of their sweat and passion causing the finest sheen over that pale skin.

What if a demon could feel more than these primeval fires of hate?

Affection? Was it really so alien a term?

No denying there was indeed an unspoken attraction toward the other demon. After all, who could resist? He cut such a suave figure, there was no denying that. Coupled with that silver tongue, it was hardly a mystery why he had more than his fair share of admirers. But there was something more under that. There was something beyond the way his scarlet eyes teased in the candlelight, more than the pant and gasp that spilled from those lips with each thrust, more than the way those nails raked across Claude's back when he reached their crescendo.

"Claude." that silken voice taunted once before sending out a flurry of silver knives.

"Claude."he once gasped, hissing from pain at a sudden heated thrust as he was forced into his back.

"Claude."that same voice whispered before he leaned in for an unexpectedly tender kiss.

_What if?  
><em>

""""""

And for the first time in years, Claude Faustus, head butler of the House of Trancy broke a plate. The sound caused Timber to look up, Thompson to turn and Canterbury to reach for the broom and dustpan. Their boss had fallen into another one of his reveries and sure enough, there the butler stood before the small pile of broken china. A single glance was all that served as an order before he set the plates back into the china cabinet and strode into the garden without so much as a word. That look spoke volumes, also hinting a violent end to whoever mentioned that one instance of imperfection ever again.

"Claude's acting weird." Canterbury murmured to his siblings as he took out the dustpan.

"Definitely weird" agreed Timber, sweeping up the mess.

"Weirder than usual." Thompson continued as he emptied the shards into the trash bin./p

Claude heard nothing of these accusations, of course. He was far too preoccupied by the what ifs plaguing his mind at that moment to care. _What if_, his mind suggested in that strangely nagging tone. _And this is a large what if but bear with me. What if you'd found love, Claude?_

It was that revelation that caused him to drop that plate. After all, it was nothing but foolish sentiment, this love business. It was what kept Alois locked to his side, ever compliant and willing. Demons needed nothing of love.

And yet...

What if?


	2. Interlude: Turn the Lights Back On

**Disclaimer:** Yana Toboso owns Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler. I own nothing but the situation. Lyrics come from Saliva's Turn the Lights Back On. I am not responsible for heartbreak.  
><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Maybe I'll make this a collection of related oneshots. Who knows? I have a second chapter in the works but while that formulates, here's this. You can find the song on Youtube. Heard it one night and the most striking of images came to me that this had to happen. Also, I think I need a new title. Thank you for your patience, everyone.

What If:  
>Interlude: Turn the Lights Back On<p>

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><p>Demons rarely slept. They hardly had any need to considering their bodies never weakened and nothing really seemed to tire them out. Well, almost nothing save the harsh demands of mating which only rivaled the equally harsh demands of battle. True to their nature, both often went hand in hand. Unlike the human cycle of wooing with sweet words and promises before spending a night together with the lights low and whispered nothings between the sheets, demonic mating was harsh, brutal, almost deadly. Love was an alien concept, something creatures of the dark, of sin, of hatred knew nothing of. Coupling was simply a way to scratch an itch so to speak: the deed was done and when both were rested enough to continue on, they parted ways until the urge struck once more.<p>

Of course, this wasn't to say things wouldn't change.

They all did that one night when the spider found himself staring, as he usually did. The candlelight flickered by his bedside, casting uneven shadows over his rumpled bed sheets and the firm sinew of his companion's back. The darker curves of his shoulder blades tapering down to the curve of his exposed waist and hip barely hidden beneath a blanket, pale skin tainted with light bruising and trails of both blood, sweat and the seed of their effort, all this seemed to give Sebastian an almost ethereal beauty to him. A beauty that couldn't be seen in the daylight amidst the frenzy of their clashes, suffice to say. No, this moment was for no one else, this beauty only his to witness. Only for the golden eyes of one Claude Faustus who drank it up as eagerly as one would the finest Bordeaux.

His.

This private beauty was for his eyes alone, his to claim, his completely though there was nothing more than a silent agreement that passed between both demons. What were they really? Lovers? Enemies? A mated pair or rather a pair who had nothing more than both animosity and sex between them? Was it mutual parasitism or mutual attraction? For all he knew, he was nothing more than another turn in the sheets for this crow with a silver tongue. But that tongue led to other things, that touch to other matters. It was rare to see a demon in slumber though he did and had for several nights now. Demons rarely slept, much less next to another.

As consequence, demons rarely dreamed as well.

But Claude knew dreams. He entered them, walked through the mist covered forests that were Jim Macken's and the winding labyrinths that were Alois Trancy's. He knew the hold dreams had on humans, knew that they pined after promises in them and shied away from the monsters that lurked within. He knew that dreams could feel real, very real. The spider was never one to underestimate the illusion of a dream.

It was with a measure of trepidation that he reached out, fingertips lightly trailing over the other demon's shoulder and began to move down the curve of his arm. He kept his touch light lest it all came undone to reveal itself as an illusion. The pad of his thumb pressed against the taut muscle of the other demon's back, black nails contrasting pale skin as his palm began to ghost over every inch exposed to him. But he stopped finally only to move that arm around the other demon's waist to ever so subtly pull him over. In that darkness illuminated by a single candle, he lay with a crow in his arms and his face buried slightly in his hair to take in his scent. No dream. This was no dream at the least. His grip grew tighter, bolder, perhaps a touch more possessive as he closed the distance between them. Perhaps this was alright. Perhaps this was one indulgence he could allow himself. After all, the day had been long.

However, his eyes were jolted back open at the sensation of the lightest nuzzle and a familiar low chuckle as the barest touch ghosting over the back of his palm. His mark pulsed with a subtle heat at the caress and the sensation of that warm breath against his neck, beating in time with his heart that seemed to pound just the slightest bit faster in anticipation. "Really, Claude." The crow chuckled, whispering those words against his companion's skin. His body shifted slightly, guiding that hand back around his waist as he turned to face the older demon. Almost subtly, he pressed into the other, his own hand travelling up his chest and resting on his shoulder. "It's been barely an hour and you can't even keep your hands off me?"

There was no denying those scarlet eyes looked all the more alluring in the candlelight. They remained with their dangerous fire, that playful edge that seemed to punctuate every taunt hurled his way. But perhaps that was all part of the allure. Eyes that burned with heat and rage and... What was that uncharacteristic moment of tenderness? This spilled forth as Claude passed his fingers through his (what was he, really, he still had no clue) lover's hair, fingers passing through those ebony strands to part them as that hand drifted lower to cup his cheek. His voice came out as the barest whisper, the barest breath against his lips. "Claude?" Sebastian asked, only to be silenced by a single kiss.

His.

Simply all there was to it.

For the slightest moment, there was a visible opening in his normally impenetrable velvet cloak of impetuousness and overconfidence. Perhaps it was the candlelight that made him perhaps a touch vulnerable, the sudden kiss that made him swoon just the smallest bit or that firm grip around his waist that pressed him close and promised a different sort of warmth than he would find in a mere tryst. But what else could Sebastian do but mask this sudden weakness in what perhaps the other demon expected from him. No, he would not be one to so easily relish these unbidden thoughts though they bubbled beneath the animosity that seemed to course through his system. It was instinct to loathe another demon, yet instinct as well to give in to the desire to mate. But why stay the few extra hours after the rut had been over and done with? Why cling just a little bit tighter to those broad shoulders and meet the fire in those golden eyes as that single kiss was shared?

Perhaps some things were better left unquestioned. For now, the candlelight was enough to hide the doubt starting to peek beneath the natural hatred and evident lust glowing in those scarlet eyes. Crows were never good at building traps, after all. More often than not, they ended up falling in harder and deeper than their intended prey.

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><p><em>Turn the lights on<em>

_I want to see you_

_The way I used to._


	3. II: A Crow Takes to a Dark Blue Sin

**Disclaimer: **Yana Toboso owns these guys, I only own the fanfic. I still want more shippy subtext.  
><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>I'd always considered any basis for their pairing to start of with nothing more than lust until one of them got attached. Guess who got a little too emotionally invested? I'm sorry this one took too long! Bit of writer's block on my part which really doesn't help with RP too. I think… two more "chapters" and I might be done with this. Oh, when will I ever learn to churn out a proper multi-chapter which is more linear and less of a messy single entry format?

What If  
>II: The Crow Takes to a Dark Blue Sin<p>

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><p>Sebastian Michaelis hated feeling of inferior even if he'd emerged triumphant in the end. The struggle against another, losing his cool, the threat of defeat never really sit well with him and caused this rather bitter taste at the back of his mouth. Per his master's policy, he tried to keep himself a paragon of undeniable perfection: fulfilling orders without fail and defeating any foe that crossed his path. Of course, that was before he crossed paths with Claude Faustus. The older demon had given him quite the workout. Never before did he have to struggle with any opponent but the spider matched him move for move, measure for measure, step by step in their deadly rondo. Of course, Sebastian always ended up victorious though it was, suffice to say, never an easy victory.<p>

_But what if_, he considered one day. _What if I've been going about this the wrong way?_

Claude had always been a hard one to read. He kept his emotions stowed away, eyes always scrutinizing and judging, making sure everything went according to plan. He was a thinker, a schemer, a planner. It was all these things that made him quite the mystery. But Sebastian knew that ice wall was a chink in that rather impenetrable armor. There had to be a way to get into his skin, break that armor apart and gain a victory much easier than besting the far better built spider demon on the battlefield.

So he turned to less conventional means.

It started simply enough: leaning into the other's touch when he got too close, those scarlet eyes flicking to a near hazy half lidded state when their words were too heated and their lips barely a breath away as their usual banter carried on, those little things. The crow had every confidence in his methods. He'd used them before, had no hesitation in turning that silver tongue to these matters when they needed be. However seducing another demon was another matter entirely, especially one as seemingly impenetrable as Claude Faustus. Humans were weak things, easy enough to turn to sin and sent to their knees by the right words, a touch here and a kiss there. Other demons rarely fell for such simple tricks.

However, much to Sebastian's amusement, Claude was no ordinary demon.

His first attempt was to try for coy, shy, almost unsure: comparable to a youth who had just discovered the throes of first love and wasn't sure what to do with himself. Opportunity presented itself via a quick trip downtown, just to check on the Funtom Company's newest stock. While his lord was busying himself with numbers and figures along with a simpering storeowner, Sebastian had caught sight of a rather familiar tall male, poorly hidden with his travelling cape and black top hat. His own lips curled into the smallest sneer before he turned his gaze to the rather terrible excuse for a spy. The game was on.

Golden eyes met his own with that signature measure of challenge they always had. There was the same burning hatred in them, that same rage that seemed to add a far intense edge to them. Their eyes met as they usually did in their way of silent threat when society deemed their usual clash of gold and silver knives improper. This time however, instead of meeting Claude's eyes with an equal measure of intensity, Sebastian quickly turned his own away. He pooled submission into his scarlet eyes along with the barest hint of worry, shame and shyness: qualities he never brought into them unless truly needed for a ploy or two. There was so much that could be said in one look, enough to paint a perfectly deceptive portrait even though the smallest smirk at Claude's surprise was hidden behind his upturned collar. As the spider turned to leave, Sebastian made sure he'd caught sight of just one more unexpected look: longing.

Needless to say, catching sight of the sudden pink tinge on his rival's cheeks as he hurried away was a nice surprise on its own for the rather proud crow.

The second time, he'd chosen a bolder approach. Their next encounter was hidden amongst the trees and illuminated by a blue moon that hung high in the sky at midnight. There had been a few close calls, knives and insults hurled as per usual as well as the usual but this time, the tension had become even thicker than before: almost enough to reach out and grasp. Their clash finally came to an end when Claude had managed to pin the crow against a nearby tree trunk. Gold knives fit themselves dangerously between his gloved fingers, seeming every bit like a set of claws and pressed near against Sebastian's throat as an arm laid across his chest kept him trapped. There was a rather dangerous tone of lilac within his gold eyes as he leaned in, a fine predatory sneer curling on his lips as he leaned in. "So it's come to this then," the spider taunted, pressing himself a measure closer. "What now, Sebastian Michaelis…?"

Sebastian in turn could do nothing to calm the pounding of his chest which heaved with every breath. The battle had left him winded, the minute cuts brought upon by the spider's webs and his knives causing the slightest sting over his skin. But his features betrayed none of these minor inconveniences. He met Claude's smirk with one of his own. His hand slipped out from near the tree trunk, fingertips lightly trailing over the other demon's thigh and slipping to rest on his hip. Claude's eyes only widened as the crow leaned himself close, lips barely ghosting against his as the crow whispered his riposte. "What now indeed, Mister Claude? What now, indeed…?" He purred, eyes half lidded and carrying only the barest hint of desire in them.

The third time around, it was his turn to find surprise.

It came at the early hours of the morning, when the servants of the Phantomhive manor as well as its young lord had all been long lost to sleep. Only one being wandered the hallways to ensure everything was in its place, the only light in the entire manor coming from a set of candles carried by its butler as three sharp knocks came to its front door. He reached out, turning the knob to open the door and turn away whichever badly timed visitor had come to call at such strange times. "Honestly, it's three in the morning." He began. "Whatever business you have with my master will have to wait 'til mo—"

But his sentence was cut short when a gloved hand reached out to cup his cheek and pull him close into a searing kiss. An arm slid around his waist to lock him in place and press him close against a firm chest as the kiss deepened, a skilled tongue flicking out to lightly trace his lower lip in order to seek entrance. The crow's free hand slid higher trailing up the soft wool of a familiar tailcoat and came to rest on Claude's broad shoulder, his other starting to loosen its grip on the candleholder. The softest moan escaped his throat as that probing tongue came in contact with the other's, his own lips willingly parting as strong slender fingers slipped through his own hair. But it was that touch that jarred him back to reality and caused him to pull back. There was a moment of surprise as scarlet eyes met gold. That gold was tainted with the same challenge but mixed with a heavy desire and the slightest hint of confusion that dulled its usual intensity. They seemed almost liquid in the candlelight, the soft amber glow doing nothing but accentuating their fire. Again, the other demon leaned in for yet another kiss but it was with slight hesitation that the crow found himself pushing away. His voice came out alien even to himself and lacking its usual cockiness, the barest whisper as he closed his fingers around the collar of Claude's jacket. "Not here." Sebastian murmured, tugging at the cloth in his grip ever so slightly to bring the other demon past the threshold of the door and close it behind them.

That night found them between Sebastian's sheets, the only witness to that first tryst being the glow of candles abandoned by his bedside table and that near blue moon that waned ever so curiously beneath its cloak of clouds.

Pain would only give way to pleasure that early morning as would lust lead itself to confusion in the weeks that followed their first and certainly not their last encounter. At times the crow was chance steal away into the night, other times it would be the spider who would meet him by the back entrance of the Trancy manor to hide him away 'til his breathless cries lay muffled against his skin and his pillows on a bed often unused for sleep. They both knew this was madness, that this intense craving was growing to be more than just a mere scratching of an itch brought about by seduction and instinct. It was sheer madness.

A beautiful madness.

A madness that only two demons in mutual unspoken understanding would allow.


End file.
